When capturing an image using a conventional automatic mode of current cameras, camera phones, and other devices, the camera attempts to set the acquisition parameters such as exposure, focus, and white balance for the user. The automatic mode of operation attempts to obtain an optimal result in the captured image. However, due to limitations in the optics (e.g., depth of field) and sensor (e.g., sensitivity, dynamic range, etc.) of the camera, the images actually produced by the camera's automatic mode of operation are often images that are suboptimal in some aspects. For example, some objects in the resulting image may be in focus while others are out of focus due to the limited depth of field of the optical system. In high dynamic range scenes containing very bright and very dark regions the sensor might not be able to capture all regions at the same time due to the limited dynamic range of the sensor. In some instances low light scenarios may result in noise dominating the captured image if the exposure time is minimized in an attempt to avoid introducing motion blur.
As such, current camera automatic modes and techniques are often times insufficient to produce a good quality image that accurately represents the captured scene. Additionally, the current camera automatic modes and techniques only produce a single, static image, which cannot be later re-experienced under different conditions (e.g., re-focusing to different objects of interest). Furthermore, the heretofore proposed partial solutions for addressing the imaging problems above typically operate by acquiring multiple images with fixed parameters within a fixed interval or range of values determined by the automatic modes. It is also noted that a user must usually actively and specifically select a particular mode of camera operation in order to address a specific imaging situation that may be problematic for a conventional automatic mode. However, such a selection requires the user recognize the need to select the specific mode of operation and then make the camera mode change that will start the specific mode of operation before taking a picture.